Aging
Navigate
Submit an Article
Research Paper|Volume 11, Issue 24|pp 12177—12201

Effects of XIAP on high fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis: a mechanism involving NLRP3 inflammasome and oxidative stress

Shi Zilu1, Huang Qian2, Wu Haibin3, Ge Chenxu4,5, Lou Deshuai4,5, Li Qiang4,5, Hu Linfeng4,5, Tan Jun4,5, Xu Minxuan4,5
  • 1Department of Nephrology, First Hospital of Quanzhou Affiliated to Fujian Medical College, Quanzhou, Fujian 362000, China
  • 2Department of Teaching and Research Section of Physiology, Basic Medicine Department, Quanzhou Medical College, Quanzhou, Fujian 362000, China
  • 3Department of Health Management Center, The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518033, China
  • 4Research Center of Brain Intellectual Promotion and Development for Children Aged 0-6 Years, Chongqing University of Education, Chongqing 400067, China
  • 5Chongqing Key Laboratory of Medicinal Resources in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University of Education, Chongqing 400067, China
* Equal contribution
Received: October 9, 2019Accepted: November 20, 2019Published: December 16, 2019
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.102559

Copyright © 2019 Zilu et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Increasing evidence indicates that prolonged fat-rich diet (HFD) ingestion is a predisposing factor for metabolic disorder-associated system inflammation and oxidative stress injury, which contributes to the occurrence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NACHT, LRR and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3)-mediated inflammatory infiltration was determined to participate in NAFLD. X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) was recently confirmed as an essential regulator for apoptosis in cells. However, the role of XIAP in HFD-induced NAFLD is still not understood. Here, XIAP was characterized with respect to HFD-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in vivo and palmitate (PA)-treated cells in vitro. After HFD administration, hepatic injury was confirmed via histological assessment (grading and staging of NAFLD) and biochemical parameters, oxidative stress, and reduced antioxidant activity. Up-regulated hepatic dysfunction were further indicated by elevated dyslipidemia, lipid accumulation, and decreased fatty acid β-oxidation associated gene expression. Moreover, in the absence of XIAP, NLRP3 signaling activated by HFD-triggered oxidative stress was up-regulated, accompanied by reduction in antioxidants including HO-1, NQO-1, GST, SOD and Nrf2 activity. The detrimental effects of XIAP blocking on hepatic steatosis and related pathologies were also confirmed in PA-treated mouse liver cells. In contrast, overexpression of XIAP by transfection in vitro restrained PA-stimulated hepatic steatosis by suppression of oxidative stress, NLRP3 related inflammatory response, and impairment of Nrf2 activity, further alleviating abnormal metabolic disorder associated NAFLD. Taken together, the present study helped to elucidate how HFD-induced hepatic steatosis was regulated by XIAP, possibly via the inhibition of NLRP3 signaling and oxidative stress injury.